10 LGU projects eyed for PPP

PPP Spectrum (Photo by Public-Private Partnership Center)

MANILA — The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center is looking at adding 10 projects from local government units (LGU) in the country’s PPP pipeline, as the government aggressively assists in developing such projects at the local level.

“There are around 10 that are in more advanced stages but still in the development stage. There are several more under conceptualization,” PPP Center Deputy Executive Director Mia Sebastian said in an interview Wednesday on the sidelines of private equity and venture forum organized by the AVCJ Group Limited.

Sebastian identified the Baggao Water Supply Project in a municipality in Cagayan province among those projects in advanced stages in terms of feasibility studies and assistance.

She said the other LGUs projects are located across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The PPP Center last month launched the national government strategy that provides assistance to LGUs to develop their PPP projects.

Sebastian identified priority sectors as water, water supply, sanitation and vertical infrastructure.

“When we look at the different needs of the LGUs, these are the common needs. We are also customizing the type of the assistance that the PPP Center is providing to the LGUs depending on these priority sectors,” she said.

Sebastian said these PPP projects can be undertaken through joint venture arrangement or build-operate-transfer model.

“And this is a good opportunity as well coming from the private sector to participate in,” she noted.

As LGU projects are smaller in scale, Sebastian further said they are looking at clustering or bundling similar projects among different LGUs to attract private sector investments.

“If it is larger particularly for the adjacent projects, or cities or municipalities, we can get more value coming from the private sector,” she said.

Sebastian added the LGU PPP strategy is in line the government’s push for development of infrastructure projects outside Metro Manila.